Lafayette 148 Celebrates Unordinary Women in New York City

And raises $20,000 for charity in the process.

NEW YORK — Just in time for Mother’s Day, the ladies at Lafayette 148 — and a few men, too — met to honor some unordinary women.

Thursday night’s celebration at Lafayette 148 — which is both a 23-year-old women’s apparel brand and the address of the brand’s first store in New York City’s SoHo — honored remarkable women with a panel discussion, Champagne, hors d’oeuvres, tunes by DJ Nicole Rosé and a look at the retailer’s spring 2019 collection.

Set against all-white walls, the mostly black-and-white collection, with some pastels and rust-colored pieces thrown in, stood out. So did the guest list. The names included prima ballerina Stella Abrera, fashion photographer Sophie Elgort, chef and restaurateur Marie-Aude Rose and model Veronica Webb.

“Almost every woman is an unordinary woman,” Fern Mallis, founder of New York Fashion Week and moderator of the evening’s panel, “Unordinary Women, Extraordinary Conversations,” told WWD. “I don’t think any of us want to be around ordinary women. There’s no point. That’s a waste of time.”

The Unordinary Women campaign, which began March 8 in recognition of International Women’s Day and runs through May 31, is raising money for She’s the First, a New York-based nonprofit that helps girls around the world become the first in their family to graduate high school.

As part of the campaign, Lafayette has agreed to donate $10 to She’s the First every time someone posts on Instagram using the hashtag #UnordinaryWomen. The retailer also agreed to donate 10 percent of sales during Thursday night’s event to the charity.

“I won’t be offended, neither will anyone else here, if you take out your phone right now and take a picture of this panel,” Mallis told the audience of about 200 people, many of whom were in the fashion and media industries. “Take a picture of something and say you’re at [the] Unordinary Women panel. If you feel compelled, do it again in the night. Do it 10 times.”

Thursday morning Lafayette 148 had raised about $10,000. By Friday that number had doubled.

Mallis herself was dressed in Lafayette 148’s spring collection. “Head to toe,” she said, referring to her flower-printed white tunic, paired khaki pant ensemble. So were all the ladies on the 14-person panel, which included other notable women, such as attorney Anjali Kumar, the Whitney Museum’s Lauri Freedman, writers Rachel Cargle and Cyndie Spiegel, White House correspondent April Ryan and entrepreneur Nike Russ. The occasion served as a way to inspire other women on their own paths to success, while acknowledging some of the unique roadblocks women face.

Mallis said finding supportive women who acted as advisers throughout her career helped her prosper.

“When I was at IMG in fashion week, doing that, it was a boy’s club,” she said. “You have to find the mentors and the people who have similar minds and can help you. When you find a woman who is in your court, there is nothing better.”

Also important is learning to accept rejection.

“When you get into business, everyone is going to say no to you,” said Veronica Webb, the first African-American woman to score a contract with Revlon and one of the original Victoria’s Secret Angels.

“The biggest thing is, one, get out of your own way,” Webb said. “Because if you’re really hard on yourself and you don’t take care of yourself, you’re going to believe all the other b.s. that people put on top of you. Because you’re already brain-washing yourself with your own b.s.”

Catherine Levene, president of digital and chief digital officer at media company Meredith Corp. and panelist at the event, said that as a female entrepreneur it was often difficult for her to raise money for new projects.

“Most of the venture capitalists are men,” Levene said. “You may be presenting a product that they don’t know a lot about firsthand. Or, they ask you very inappropriate questions. Like, ‘Do you want to have kids? How are you going to manage running a company if you have kids?’ It’s much more difficult to be a woman in that kind of world.”

Even so, she said hard work and self-confidence do pay off if employed over time.

“When there’s opportunity or you see holes in an organization where nobody’s doing something, do it. Take it on,” Levene said. “Jump into a role or raise your hand for a role that you might fear you’re not quite ready for. Go in and do your best to learn on the job. Because, [as women] we’re smart, we believe in ourselves and we have to know we can do it.”

Social Studies

You might not know who Beanie Feldstein is now, but the breakout star is poised to be a name synonymous with comedy. ⁣⁣
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Beanie stars in @OliviaWilde's directorial debut "Booksmart," opening today. The film has been dubbed the female "Superbad" — which is somewhat ironic since Beanie is actor Jonah Hill's younger sister. ⁣⁣
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“She is sort of like Paris Geller meets Lisa Simpson with a little bit of Sandra Bullock in ‘Miss Congeniality.’ I liked the idea of showing that a girl can be silly and loose with her friends and also be really intense and kind of biting at school,” Beanie said of her character, Molly.⁣ ⁣
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The actress also said that Wilde’s take on the story is “fresh and honest” and she was “whip-smart” in her directorial debut.⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣⁣
Report: @leighen⁣
📸: @jgreenery
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#wwdeye
#booksmart
#beaniefeldstein

It looks like Kris isn't the only momager in the Kardashian-Jenner family. ⁣
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Kim Kardashian is setting up son Psalm West for success in the fashion, beauty and home sectors — at the ripe old age of two weeks. ⁣
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On May 18, Kardashian filed a trademark for her son for “Psalm West” under her company, Kimsaprincess, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. ⁣
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Now all of the West children have trademarks filed under their names. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
Report: @laylailchi
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#wwdfashion⁣
#kimkardashian⁣
#psalmwest

Natalie Portman, Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, and Roger Federer at the Moët & Chandon in France. ⁣
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The intimate dinner celebrated the 150th anniversary of its Brut Imperial blend, at its just-reopened Château de Saran overlooking the vineyards of the Champagne region in the east of France.⁣
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There were fireworks, towering pyramids of Champagne glasses — plus vines and VIPs as far as the eye could see. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report: @fleurfleurette
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#wwdeye
#moetchandon

Shailene Woodley has no desire to keep up with the superficial standards of Hollywood.⁣
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“If you look at Hollywood — and I’m no saint in this regard — but every single time somebody gets a little bit more famous, they get a little bit thinner, and they get a little bit blonder, and they get a little bit more defined in their face,” Woodley says. ⁣
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“There’s sort of this sense of machinery that can happen to people in the limelight, and I was very fortunate also at a young age to work with so many incredible, strong women who were already a little rebellious in their own ways against the machinery that can be this industry.” ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more.⁣
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Report: @leighen ⁣⁣
Styling: @thealexbadia⁣
📸: @ninebagatelles⁣
Production: @jgreenery⁣
Beauty: @keithcarpenterhair & @tyronmachhausen ⁣
Market: @andrew_shang & @elmercer⁣

The Prada Group is going fur-free. ⁣
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The company will no longer use animal fur in its designs or new products, starting from the spring/summer 2020 women’s collections. ⁣
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Creative director Miuccia Prada explained that the company “is committed to innovation and social responsibility,” and that its fur-free policy “is an extension of that engagement.”⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more.⁣
Report: @luisazargani
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#wwdfashion⁣
#prada⁣
#furfree

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi is launching an apparel collection. ⁣
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The Argentine athlete, who captains both FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team, has partnered with MGO, a brand portfolio company whose chief creative officer is Tommy Hilfiger’s sister, Ginny Hilfiger, to create Messi.⁣
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The premium lifestyle brand with “a sporty edge” will be primarily men’s wear but will include a few women’s tops as well, according to Hilfiger.⁣
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Hilfiger said despite his fame and wealth, Messi “is a really humble, generous and kind person and a great role model. He has been involved since we started talking to the Messi family two-and-a-half years ago when we presented the idea to them. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report:⁣ @jeanpalmieri
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#wwdfashion⁣
#LionelMessi ⁣
#FCBarcelona⁣
#mgo⁣
#GinnyHilfiger

Once upon a time in Cannes, @ellefanning had another major red carpet-moment in @Dior.
Tap the link in bio to read what growing up in Hollywood was like for the youngest-ever jury member at Cannes.
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#wwdfashion
#ellefanning
#dior
#onceuponatimeinhollywood

Shailene Woodley is an all-in or not-at-all kind of woman — leading her to get the reputation as the hippie of Hollywood. ⁣
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She views her experience of “breaking out,” if you will, as a kind of shepherding by older, wiser female costars along the way, women she says helped her steel herself against the superficial demands of the industry. ⁣
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One of those women, @reesewitherspoon, spoke to us about Woodley's inspiring performance on "Big Little Lies." “Her portrayal of a woman who is both a survivor of sexual assault and a single mother raising her child alone in a new community is one of the most truthful performances I’ve ever seen. There is a scene in episode two of this season where Jane explains her assault to Ziggy that moves me to tears every time I see it," Witherspoon said. ⁣
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Woodley's acting choices have earned her a reputation for being a talented and utterly professional one to watch, but it’s her candid, unabashed activism in real-life that people are taking notice of. ⁣
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“I think it’s very easy for all of us to be comfortable in our bubbles and to be comfortable in the lives of privilege that a lot of us live, to be comfortable in our own space, in our own opinions, in our own forms of what we think is right or wrong, black and white, justice and non-justice — but ultimately until every single person on this planet feels like they are treated like a proper human being, I’m not going to stop because more than anything, I’m just somebody who deeply feels,” Woodley said.
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report: @leighen ⁣
Styling: @thealexbadia
📸: @ninebagatelles